Basic economic theory provides maximizing revenue requires a determination of the price and associated output level that results in the greatest return in revenue. While this general theory provides instruction to the pricing in a wide variety of contexts, it relies on an underlying validity of a workable demand model in order to obtain this revenue optimization.
Golf course operators, at least informally, model demand based on three factors: season, day of week, and time of day. Pricings for tee times are determined accordingly. While these demand models may be sufficient to capture a majority of attainable revenue, they fail to account for less perceptible customer behavior patterns that influence demand. Accordingly, pricings generated on the basis of these underdeveloped demand models may fail to capture significant revenue.